Wiseguy
February 27, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Wiseguy aired on CBS for four seasons, from 1987 to 1990.
Ken Wahl stars as Vinnie Terranova, a federal government agent in the Organized Crime Bureau who went deep undercover to capture criminals.
In the beginning of the show, he has just completed a year-and-a-half prison stint. It’s a set-up to give Vinnie a viable criminal background cover. To the outside world, he’s a wiseguy, a term applied to organized crime figures.
Jonathan Banks plays Frank McPike, Vinnie’s government handler who coordinates strategy with Vinnie. Banks appears in Beverly Hills Cop as one of the henchman of Victor Maitlin, the nemesis of Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley character.
Daniel Burroughs plays Jim Burroughs. Nickname: Lifeguard. Essentially, he is Vinnie’s communications link to McPike. His nickname is appropriate -- if Vinnie gets in danger, he calls Lifeguard with appropriate codes to send backup.
Wiseguy rarely contained self-contained episodes. Rather, it used story arcs comprised of multiple episodes.
The first story arc sees Vinnie become a trusted member of the crime family of mob boss Sonny Steelgrave, played by Ray Sharkey. Steelgrave electrocutes himself in front of Vinnie when he discovers Vinnie’s true identity.
The second story arc showcases Kevin Spacey as Mel Profitt, an international criminal with roots in arms dealing.
Other story arcs focus on white supremacy, the garment district in New York City, the record industry, a Japanese Yen counterfeiting conspiracy, mafia wars, a small town in the Pacific Northwest rooted in corruption, a Cuban-American crime lord, and the drug trade in the New York City school system.
ABC aired a reunion tv-movie in 1996. The canon is questionable.
In the fourth season of Wiseguy, Vinnie is killed.
The 1996 tv-movie stars Wahl as Vinnie. So either the fourth season story line did not occur in official Wiseguy canon or the events in the tv-movie occurred before his death.
david@davidkrell.com
Wiseguy aired on CBS for four seasons, from 1987 to 1990.
Ken Wahl stars as Vinnie Terranova, a federal government agent in the Organized Crime Bureau who went deep undercover to capture criminals.
In the beginning of the show, he has just completed a year-and-a-half prison stint. It’s a set-up to give Vinnie a viable criminal background cover. To the outside world, he’s a wiseguy, a term applied to organized crime figures.
Jonathan Banks plays Frank McPike, Vinnie’s government handler who coordinates strategy with Vinnie. Banks appears in Beverly Hills Cop as one of the henchman of Victor Maitlin, the nemesis of Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley character.
Daniel Burroughs plays Jim Burroughs. Nickname: Lifeguard. Essentially, he is Vinnie’s communications link to McPike. His nickname is appropriate -- if Vinnie gets in danger, he calls Lifeguard with appropriate codes to send backup.
Wiseguy rarely contained self-contained episodes. Rather, it used story arcs comprised of multiple episodes.
The first story arc sees Vinnie become a trusted member of the crime family of mob boss Sonny Steelgrave, played by Ray Sharkey. Steelgrave electrocutes himself in front of Vinnie when he discovers Vinnie’s true identity.
The second story arc showcases Kevin Spacey as Mel Profitt, an international criminal with roots in arms dealing.
Other story arcs focus on white supremacy, the garment district in New York City, the record industry, a Japanese Yen counterfeiting conspiracy, mafia wars, a small town in the Pacific Northwest rooted in corruption, a Cuban-American crime lord, and the drug trade in the New York City school system.
ABC aired a reunion tv-movie in 1996. The canon is questionable.
In the fourth season of Wiseguy, Vinnie is killed.
The 1996 tv-movie stars Wahl as Vinnie. So either the fourth season story line did not occur in official Wiseguy canon or the events in the tv-movie occurred before his death.
Double Rush
February 18, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Double Rush was a short-lived sitcom on CBS that aired from January to April 1995.
Stephen Nathan and Diane English created the show.
Its setting was familiar -- the workplace.
Cheers had the bar in Boston where everybody knows your name.
WKRP in Cincinnati had a rock and roll radio station in the Queen City.
And Double Rush had a bicycle messenger service in Manhattan named Double Rush.
The owner is would-be rock musician Johnny Verona, played by Robert Pastorelli.
Pastorelli earned the respect, laughter, and loyalty of fans of Murphy Brown as Eldin Bernecky, the house painter who constantly created new projects for Murphy’s home.
Corinne Bohrer plays the practical-minded Harvard Business School grad Zoe Fuller, a good complement and potential love interest for Johnny.
There is a dynamic between dreamer Johnny and intellectual yet unfulfilled Zoe that is reminiscent of Sam and Diane on Cheers.
Double Rush was funny. Its characters were well-defined. And its supporting cast was solid.
D.L. Hughley, Adam Goldberg, and David Arquette play bike messengers.
Sam Lloyd plays dispatcher Barkley. You may know him as Ted Buckland, the attorney for Sacred Heart Hospital on Scrubs.
Veteran comedic character actor Phil Leeds plays veteran bike messenger The Kid.
In the pilot, we learn that Johnny won’t sell Double Rush to a competitor because if he does, the competitor will lay off the messengers.
We also learn that Johnny’s loyalty is inherent. Twenty-five years prior, Johnny had the opportunity to sign with a record label. But the label only wanted Johnny, not his band mates.
Johnny wouldn’t sign without them, so he continued his bike messenger job to pay the bills. Eventually, he bought Double Rush.
Despite the cast and writing, Double Rush did not live to see the Fall 1995 lineup.
david@davidkrell.com
Double Rush was a short-lived sitcom on CBS that aired from January to April 1995.
Stephen Nathan and Diane English created the show.
Its setting was familiar -- the workplace.
Cheers had the bar in Boston where everybody knows your name.
WKRP in Cincinnati had a rock and roll radio station in the Queen City.
And Double Rush had a bicycle messenger service in Manhattan named Double Rush.
The owner is would-be rock musician Johnny Verona, played by Robert Pastorelli.
Pastorelli earned the respect, laughter, and loyalty of fans of Murphy Brown as Eldin Bernecky, the house painter who constantly created new projects for Murphy’s home.
Corinne Bohrer plays the practical-minded Harvard Business School grad Zoe Fuller, a good complement and potential love interest for Johnny.
There is a dynamic between dreamer Johnny and intellectual yet unfulfilled Zoe that is reminiscent of Sam and Diane on Cheers.
Double Rush was funny. Its characters were well-defined. And its supporting cast was solid.
D.L. Hughley, Adam Goldberg, and David Arquette play bike messengers.
Sam Lloyd plays dispatcher Barkley. You may know him as Ted Buckland, the attorney for Sacred Heart Hospital on Scrubs.
Veteran comedic character actor Phil Leeds plays veteran bike messenger The Kid.
In the pilot, we learn that Johnny won’t sell Double Rush to a competitor because if he does, the competitor will lay off the messengers.
We also learn that Johnny’s loyalty is inherent. Twenty-five years prior, Johnny had the opportunity to sign with a record label. But the label only wanted Johnny, not his band mates.
Johnny wouldn’t sign without them, so he continued his bike messenger job to pay the bills. Eventually, he bought Double Rush.
Despite the cast and writing, Double Rush did not live to see the Fall 1995 lineup.
Sorkin Similarities
January 27, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Before he became the architect of the fictional Bartlet presidency by creating The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin designed a slice of the fictional Shepherd presidency in The American President.
The American President shows us the end of the first term of democrat Andrew Shepherd, a widower whose wife died before the election that sent him to the White House.
The most notable link between The American President and The West Wing is Martin Sheen.
In The American President, Sheen plays Shepherd’s Chief of Staff, A.J. Macinerney.
In The West Wing, Sheen plays President Bartlet.
Anna Deavere Smith is another link between the two stories.
She plays Press Secretary Robin McCall in The American President.
She has a recurring role on The West Wing -- Dr. Nancy McNally, National Security Advisor.
Joshua Malina also has roles in both Sorkin stories.
In The American President, Malina has a minor role -- an associate of President Shepherd’s environmental activist girlfriend, Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Bening.
Malina replaced Rob Lowe in The West Wing. When Lowe’s character of Sam Seaborn runs for Congress, Malina’s character of Will Bailey replaces Sam as Deputy Communications Director.
In West Wing canon, the last real president acknowledged in dialogue is President Nixon. However, one scene takes place outside the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. The West Wing does not directly reference Reagan as a U.S. president.
We also do not know whether President Shepherd is part of the post-Nixon history of The West Wing.
david@davidkrell.com
Before he became the architect of the fictional Bartlet presidency by creating The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin designed a slice of the fictional Shepherd presidency in The American President.
The American President shows us the end of the first term of democrat Andrew Shepherd, a widower whose wife died before the election that sent him to the White House.
The most notable link between The American President and The West Wing is Martin Sheen.
In The American President, Sheen plays Shepherd’s Chief of Staff, A.J. Macinerney.
In The West Wing, Sheen plays President Bartlet.
Anna Deavere Smith is another link between the two stories.
She plays Press Secretary Robin McCall in The American President.
She has a recurring role on The West Wing -- Dr. Nancy McNally, National Security Advisor.
Joshua Malina also has roles in both Sorkin stories.
In The American President, Malina has a minor role -- an associate of President Shepherd’s environmental activist girlfriend, Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Bening.
Malina replaced Rob Lowe in The West Wing. When Lowe’s character of Sam Seaborn runs for Congress, Malina’s character of Will Bailey replaces Sam as Deputy Communications Director.
In West Wing canon, the last real president acknowledged in dialogue is President Nixon. However, one scene takes place outside the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. The West Wing does not directly reference Reagan as a U.S. president.
We also do not know whether President Shepherd is part of the post-Nixon history of The West Wing.
Television Ad Agencies
January 27, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If you had to choose an advertising agency, which one would you choose?
Would it be McMahon & Tate? You might bump into Darrin Stephens, a good-natured, smart, creative ad executive with a wife named Samantha who is a little mysterious. You might even say she is bewitching.
Would it be Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin? You might see artist Kip Wilson and word man Henry Desmond. They report to Ruth Dunbar, a red-headed, confident, experienced ad woman.
Kip, Henry, Ruth and Amy, a secretary, start their own commercial production company -- Sixty Seconds Street.
Henry and Kip are friends since childhood. They’re bosom buddies.
Would you choose Jack MacLaren’s agency? He is a success in advertising who started his own agency. He looks a lot like Tom Selleck. You might hear the words ‘the closer’ around his office.
Would you choose The Michael & Elliott Company? Two thirtysomethings named Michael and Elliott started this ad agency in mid-1980’s Philadelphia. By the late 1980’s, the agency went under. Michael and Elliott joined DAA, an advertising powerhouse.
Would you choose Rothman, Greene & Moore? Creative Director Mason McGuire and his irresponsible yet productive copywriter colleague Conner will treat you right. Their slogan might as well be called Trust Me.
Would you choose Sterling Cooper, the prototypical 1960’s ad agency with a charming, mysterious, and instinctive Creative Director -- Don Draper.
Who would you choose to do the photographs for print ads? Would it be Felix Unger, portraits a specialty?
Who would you choose to write a jingle? Would it be Charlie Harper, a womanizing, alcohol loving, Malibu beach house owning songwriter who also houses his brother, a chiropractor, and his brother’s son. Together, they comprise two and a half men.
Whichever agency, photographer, or jingle writer you select to promote your product or service, you have plenty of choices in the annals of television history.
david@davidkrell.com
If you had to choose an advertising agency, which one would you choose?
Would it be McMahon & Tate? You might bump into Darrin Stephens, a good-natured, smart, creative ad executive with a wife named Samantha who is a little mysterious. You might even say she is bewitching.
Would it be Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin? You might see artist Kip Wilson and word man Henry Desmond. They report to Ruth Dunbar, a red-headed, confident, experienced ad woman.
Kip, Henry, Ruth and Amy, a secretary, start their own commercial production company -- Sixty Seconds Street.
Henry and Kip are friends since childhood. They’re bosom buddies.
Would you choose Jack MacLaren’s agency? He is a success in advertising who started his own agency. He looks a lot like Tom Selleck. You might hear the words ‘the closer’ around his office.
Would you choose The Michael & Elliott Company? Two thirtysomethings named Michael and Elliott started this ad agency in mid-1980’s Philadelphia. By the late 1980’s, the agency went under. Michael and Elliott joined DAA, an advertising powerhouse.
Would you choose Rothman, Greene & Moore? Creative Director Mason McGuire and his irresponsible yet productive copywriter colleague Conner will treat you right. Their slogan might as well be called Trust Me.
Would you choose Sterling Cooper, the prototypical 1960’s ad agency with a charming, mysterious, and instinctive Creative Director -- Don Draper.
Who would you choose to do the photographs for print ads? Would it be Felix Unger, portraits a specialty?
Who would you choose to write a jingle? Would it be Charlie Harper, a womanizing, alcohol loving, Malibu beach house owning songwriter who also houses his brother, a chiropractor, and his brother’s son. Together, they comprise two and a half men.
Whichever agency, photographer, or jingle writer you select to promote your product or service, you have plenty of choices in the annals of television history.
"My Life" as sung by Conan O'Brien
January 15, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “My Life”
Got a call from Jeff Zucker
We used to be real close
Said he wanted to give my time slot to Jay
Told my staff, told my reps
That I’m staying at 11:35
Now I’m learning all about life in L.A.
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
They will tell you, you can't trust anybody in showbiz
Then they'll tell you, your soda is losing its fizz
Ah, but sooner or later my agents will handle it
Either way it's okay, no biz like showbiz
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “My Life”
Got a call from Jeff Zucker
We used to be real close
Said he wanted to give my time slot to Jay
Told my staff, told my reps
That I’m staying at 11:35
Now I’m learning all about life in L.A.
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
They will tell you, you can't trust anybody in showbiz
Then they'll tell you, your soda is losing its fizz
Ah, but sooner or later my agents will handle it
Either way it's okay, no biz like showbiz
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
"Is NBC Really Going With Jay?"
January 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Execs are here and walking down the NBC halls
From my office I'm staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (Where?)
There's a man that I used to know
He’s firing me or moving my show so I’m told
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties in the hills
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (Where?)
Here comes Zucker with his best friend Jay
They say that contracts don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's marked down as dead
Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, read my contract it says
I get to stay or you pay me forty-five mil
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Execs are here and walking down the NBC halls
From my office I'm staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (Where?)
There's a man that I used to know
He’s firing me or moving my show so I’m told
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties in the hills
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (Where?)
Here comes Zucker with his best friend Jay
They say that contracts don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's marked down as dead
Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, read my contract it says
I get to stay or you pay me forty-five mil
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Opie the Birdman
January 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the Opie the Birdman episode of The Andy Griffith Show, we learn a valuable lesson about creative parenting.
Andy Taylor, Sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, orders his son, Opie, not to use his slingshot.
Opie ignores the mandate and plays with the slingshot anyway.
Consequently, he kills a mother bird and leaves three baby birds without a parent.
Andy punishes Opie.
Not by a spanking.
And not by a lecture.
By leaving the window open so Opie can hear the birds chirping and crying for their mother throughout the night.
The punishment proves inspirational.
The following morning, Opie takes responsibility to repair the damage he caused and decides to raise the birds himself in a cage. He names them Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod.
Clearly, Opie learns his lesson about the importance of obeying instructions and the consequences of disobeying.
But soon, the birds prove too big for the cage that Opie provides. And the time comes to let them fly.
It’s a bittersweet moment. He laments the cage’s emptiness. But Andy points out that the trees are full.
david@davidkrell.com
In the Opie the Birdman episode of The Andy Griffith Show, we learn a valuable lesson about creative parenting.
Andy Taylor, Sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, orders his son, Opie, not to use his slingshot.
Opie ignores the mandate and plays with the slingshot anyway.
Consequently, he kills a mother bird and leaves three baby birds without a parent.
Andy punishes Opie.
Not by a spanking.
And not by a lecture.
By leaving the window open so Opie can hear the birds chirping and crying for their mother throughout the night.
The punishment proves inspirational.
The following morning, Opie takes responsibility to repair the damage he caused and decides to raise the birds himself in a cage. He names them Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod.
Clearly, Opie learns his lesson about the importance of obeying instructions and the consequences of disobeying.
But soon, the birds prove too big for the cage that Opie provides. And the time comes to let them fly.
It’s a bittersweet moment. He laments the cage’s emptiness. But Andy points out that the trees are full.
Hotel
January 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”